Introduction to the Book of Zohar:
"We find that the law of oppositeness of form operates in the spirituality. According to this law, souls whose properties differ from those of the Creator, separate from Him the same way as two objects in the corporeal world, cut apart by the ax. And the distance between them is proportional to the oppositeness of form."
If I could compare all the desires, all inner properties and qualities of my soul with the properties and desires of another soul, I would know the exact distance that separates them due to difference of form or unites them because of equivalence of form. Thus, if we want to build one big, collective Kli in the group, where the Creator would be able to reveal Himself, we must unite all group members’ thoughts, desires, and aspirations and to make them work for a single goal: revelation of the Creator and adhesion with Him. Only then will the souls, distanced from each other by the difference in form, manage to unite into a single soul of equal form.
"And hence understand that the will to receive pleasure instilled by the Creator into the souls, as we discussed earlier, is absolutely absent in the Creator, otherwise, from whom would He receive? And this difference of form acquired by the souls works on separating them from the essence of the Creator (much like the ax, carving rock from a mountain), in such a way that they exit the wholeness of the Creator as separate creatures. However, that what the souls attain from the light of the Creator emanated from Him as something that existed before."
And truly a soul is nothing but the light of the Creator. It differs only in terms of new property acquired from the Creator: the will to receive. When no longer distanced from the Creator by the will to receive, the soul bonds with the Creator again in perfection and eternity.
"It therefore turns out that as far as the light that they receive in their vessel (which is the will to receive) is concerned, there is no difference between them and His essence. That is because they receive, existence from existence, directly from His essence, and the difference between the souls and His essence is only that Kli - the will to receive, where the light of the Creator entered, is what separates the soul from the Creator through difference of form, as 'part' is separated from 'whole', similar to stone that is carved from a mountain. And scrutinize this meticulously for it is impossible to expand further on such a sublime issue."
We are talking about sublime matters. If a person understands, feels, and senses these matters internally, this sensation can serve as the means for spiritual advancement throughout the entire path. By simply understanding that the will to receive for oneself (egoism) is the only evil that separates man from the Creator, one can reach the Final Correction. We are incapable of annulling the will to receive; however, it is possible not to use it, but rather mend it, as if it does not exist. This happens when Malchut rises to Bina: Malchut starts to resemble Bina, as if becoming "Hafetz Hesed"; Malchut has no desires. But this is only part of correction. Using the will to receive, we can accomplish more: we can change the intention from "receive" to "bestow". Then, receiving the light of the Creator, we give our pleasure to Him, becoming like the Creator, Keter, for if He wanted us to remain at the level of Bina, He would not have created us. His goal in creation was that we would reach the level of the Creator.
TES, Part 1, "Inner Reflection":
"First, you must know that when dealing with spiritual matters that have no concern with time, space and motion, and moreover when dealing with Godliness, we do not have the words by which to express and contemplate. Our entire vocabulary is taken from sensations of imaginary senses. Thus, how can they assist us where sense and imagination do not reign?
For example, if you take the subtlest of words, namely Orot (Lights), it nonetheless resembles and borrows from the light of the sun, or an emotional light of satisfaction. Thus, how can they be used to express Godly matters? They would certainly fail to provide the reader with anything true. It is even truer in a place where these words should disclose the negotiations in the wisdom in print, as is done in any research of wisdom. If we fail with even a single inadequate word, the reader will be instantly disoriented and will not find his hands and legs in this entire matter.
For that reason, the sages of the Kabbalah have chosen a special language, which we can call “the language of the branches.” There is not an essence or a conduct in this world that does not begin in its Shoresh in the Upper World. Moreover, the beginning of every being in this world starts from the Upper World and then hangs down to this world. Thus, the sages have found an adequate language without trouble by which they could convey their attainments to each other by word of mouth and in writing from generation to generation. They have taken the names of the branches in this world, where each name is self-explanatory, as though pointing to its Upper Shoresh in the system of the Upper Worlds."
Everything that I think about, that happens to me outside and inside, everything that I want, all of this comes to me from Above. Nothing, starting from the smallest and ending with the greatest, is just born without the connection with the spiritual. But where is man himself? He does not exist. The sages took the names of branches in our world and prescribed these names to the spiritual roots, following the chain that connects roots and branches. All Kabbalistic books are written in this manner. Although written and stated about people, animals, dessert, abodes, wars, etc., seemingly about that which happened in our world, not a single word in these books relates to our world. All refers only to their spiritual roots in the Upper Worlds and whatever happens with their spiritual roots there. Thus these are called "sacred books." If we find the meaning of the spiritual roots of these words, we will be surprised when reading these books since reference is made to notions completely different from our world. Each line will serve us as a guide to the degrees of the spiritual worlds up to the end of correction. Each spiritual root has to manifest in a physical form of our world at least once.
We already discussed that the Creator created the will to delight and instilled it into the souls. This is a black fog that hides from us the true picture of existence, filling our entire body, heart, and mind. We do not sense the Creator; we do not even know that He exists. If we cast away this black fog from our sight and entire body, we will start feeling the Creator again; we will turn from being a ”part” into being a ”whole.” How can we achieve this? Our sages gave us a unique opportunity to attract Ohr Makif (the surrounding light) through studying Kabbalah, and thus gradually to correct our desires - Kelim. As we correct them, we attain the Creator, meaning, we bond with Him via corrected properties.
A person gradually enters into the spiritual world. Each degree that he attains includes two sides: the right line (properties of the Creator) and the left line, opposite to it (properties of creation). And as much as person is able to withstand the left line, transforming it into the right one, he masters one spiritual degree and rises to the next one.
Today if we were able to see how low our state is, and how opposite to the Creator our properties are, we would enter into such a dreadful state that we would not be able to lift even a finger. Sometimes we fall into depression, yet it is incomparable to the experience in such a state. To preclude inducing this experience, Kabbalists cannot reveal matters to a person all at once, but rather gradually time after time. It is impossible to be joyous all the time, and often we descend spiritually. We should carry on until we receive mercy from Above or get help from group and studies. Nevertheless throughout the entire path one feels how opposite he is to the Creator. And only when he attains the last degree does all evil turn into good.
All souls originated from one soul, Adam. Some souls are more egoistic, some less. After the end of correction this will be irrelevant, for all will receive equally. But until the souls are separated and reincarnate into our world, they differ among themselves. Purer souls reach the end of correction earlier than other, more egoistic ones. These souls also start studying Kabbalah and become Kabbalists earlier than others. This was the case with all the Kabbalists in all generations until the time of ARI. He, as he wrote himself, came into this world in order to give people an opportunity to start studying Kabbalah regardless of sex, age, and other characteristics. Starting from the time of ARI mankind entered into a new period, when the end of correction will be reached not by individuals, but by the masses. This is what leads to a bigger interest in Kabbalah: people feel inner emptiness and receive an impulse for spiritual attainment – a call for the Creator, - from Above to come study Kabbalah.
In "Preface to TES" Baal HaSulam says that he wants to break down the wall that emerged between us and the science of Kabbalah more than 2000 years ago, making our life so unbearable. If this barrier continues, we may forget about Eretz Israel all together. Yet if Rav spoke to the heart of a person concerning its study, he received an answer: "Why do I need to know about heavenly angels and their names?” In general, people used to believe that before starting to learn Kabbalah, one must first master Gmara completely. Moreover, there are those who state that not everybody should engage in study of Kabbalah. Baal HaSulam advises us to disregard all arguments and reasons that advise against studying the science of truth. Those who have no desire to study Kabbalah can remain at the animal-like state. The rest should ask themselves only one question: "What is the meaning of my life?" Many people live their lives without ever receiving an answer to this question. And if they really want to find an answer, if this question makes them restless, they should study Kabbalah.
Why am I talking about this? It is impossible to explain to a novice what the spiritual is for he lacks the corrected desires. But if one feels bad and cannot fill himself with any pleasures, he has matured for Kabbalah studies.
All of us exist in the state called "double concealment" or "restriction inside of concealment." Its characteristic is that we do not see the Creator even from His back; it is concealed from us is that it is the Creator who makes us feel bad. We say that the Creator has abandoned us, that He does nothing, and that all the suffering we endure arises from nature because of our destiny. And we say that we should live the way we do. The more good deeds a person performs, the worse is his situation. When one does something evil, he thrives. All good people seem ill, pure and anxious, while the wicked ones, healthy and happy.
"Single concealment" is when a person sees the Creator from the back and realizes that all the sufferings come from Him, either because of transgressions that a person commits, or because later he will be repaid with good for the past suffering. He does not earn enough and has debts; he goes through endless troubles and suffers from illnesses. All that he plans does not materialize. He has no joy in life.
We see how even a small concealment of the Creator's light changes our entire life, worsens it. The external state remains the same, but we see it either as very bad, or not as bad. In reality, all these sensations are only imaginary, as in a dream. Suddenly, this state can change into a completely opposite one. Meanwhile, nothing really changed, not in salary, nor at work, nor in health. Yet, internally everything changes into good. This is inexplicable; a person simply strengthens his faith that the Creator rules over creation.
In the next state, "revelation of the Creator's face," one sees that which is received from the Creator is mostly good. He exists in inner harmony and satisfaction, earns well, is free of illness, and is respected by others. And if he lacks something, he prays and receives an answer instantly. Not a single prayer is sent in vain, nor remains unanswered. This is what a person feels. Only inner sensation has changed. This is how dependent we are on even the slightest change in the amount of light, presenting our reality as a completely different sensation. All acquaintances now seem to us as prosperous, joyous and carefree; they are clever and control the situation. And we are happy to be friends with them, to be close to them, even though before we were not able to stand their closeness.
And all who do not follow the path of the Torah seem to a person as troubled with life, by debts and insufficient earning, and by illnesses. Not a single minute is filled with happiness; they are bitter and hate everything around them.
What can be said about these examples? Our feelings and sensations are 100 percent dependent on whether we will receive a smaller or bigger amount of light from Above. If we are lucky enough to receive more light, then everything around us seems good; if not lucky enough, everything around seems black. It follows that we have to aspire for the revelation of the Creator's face and passionately desire this. Our best sensations are linked with the attainment of the Creator; all of our suffering, with the absence of light. One cannot suffer when the Creator's face is revealed. The Creator’s face is happiness, perfection, and joy. In the state "face to face with the Creator" a person instantly receives whatever he or she desires. Otherwise, it cannot be called "face to face.” On the contrary, when a person is in a state "back to back" in relation to the Creator, not a single desire is fulfilled, but rather only undesired states arise, even as if purposefully.
The Creator does not change His attitude towards us. Only we ourselves can sense Him and our position in relation to Him, the difference depending on our own state. But from the side of the Creator, we constantly swim in the pool of light. All evil that is revealed to me indicates that I have to correct it, regardless of what is given to me from Above.